In the spring of 2022, Frederico Martins and his team chose the landscape of Monte do Ramalho for a fashion photo shoot with Margarida Vila Nova for Solo magazine.
In his words, “the place helps us build the setting for the story we want to tell and is a key element in creating the character. With a cinematic aesthetic that matches the mood of the publication, the choice of location follows visual, functional, and emotional criteria.”
Of the thousand acres at Monte do Ramalho, more than half are occupied by olive groves.
There are no visible neighbors. The horizon is endless, the silence is punctuated by the chirping of birds, and as the sun sets, a small hare occasionally passes by. There are lush fig trees that perfume the air, there are bare ruins in the summer’s dryness, and fluffy donkeys that enjoy being petted.
There are places to sleep, to eat, to swim, to photograph or film. Places to take a break and to do almost everything.
When searching for a place to photograph, the production team focused on three criteria, which we at Monte do Ramalho meet with distinction.
An emotional connection, as the Alentejo was a special location for the actress, and it was essential to have a setting that respected the region’s culture and conveyed the serenity of the mood board. Having checked in the day before, it was possible to see how the light behaved at different times of the day; and the diversity, because wherever the eye falls, the scenery is appetising. It’s time to test sets, discover new possibilities and make complicated choices.
Once the technical conditions and the best scenery were in place, we arranged overnight accommodation and food for the whole team. And the feedback from our clients couldn’t have been better:
“A big thank you to Monte do Ramalho for welcoming us with open arms. What a wonderful day we had and such great food.”
Monte do Ramalho is a unique place, both as a location and as a raw material, for hosting your projects and those of your clients. Whether it’s a photographic production or a brand activation, here ideas can take many forms…
We have a rustic, unpretentious, and authentic profile, with over a century of agricultural history And if the setting isn’t quite right, we have the capacity to accommodate your team and guests, providing a warm, genuine, and comforting experience—the well-deserved rest on such intense working days!
Margarida Vila Nova, photographed by Frederico Martins, video by Raul Sousa, with production by Lalaland Studios.
